#backstory fragments my beloved

[inaconstantstateofchange]

The Sorrow Glaive, and Halsin's Backstory

So, one of my favorite things about second playthroughs is going back through with the context to put meaning to information you overlooked in your first playthrough.

One such piece of information is the "Druid Notebook" you can find in Nettie's chambers in the Emerald Grove.

Inside, the writing is incredibly fragmented, and doesn't come together into any sort of coherency based on the Act 1 knowledge you could have at the time of reading it.

However, if you go back after completing the quest to free Halsin and save the grove, you could put together the link to the glaive you can receive as your reward, named Sorrow.

Note: there is an additional piece of information that I clearly recall, but was not able to trigger when I went back through and attempted it on one of my save files. After you pick up the glaive, the character who does so has a line that describes an overwhelming tide of sadness filling them.

If you get even further in the game, to conversations with Halsin in Act 2, he reveals the way he became Archdruid one hundred years ago:

In the battle against Ketheric, his master, the previous Archdruid, was felled, and the responsibility fell on Halsin's shoulders to take charge of the druid forces and get them to safety as the shadow-curse fell upon them. He describes it as an incredible weight of regret on him that he was never able to do more to help them - his master, the land, and Thaniel.

There is a possibility that I am wrong of course, but I'm pretty confident in this conclusion:

That journal is Halsin's, and the shade he describes is his master's.

He had to destroy the shadow-cursed version of his beloved teacher.

Not only did he have to go through the sorrow of losing him in the first place, but he had to "kill" him himself, all over again.

We also know that many of the shadow-cursed creatures leave vestiges behind, with echoes of who they were when they were alive.

That vestige would have been Halsin's last fleeting memory of his master, as he was in life.

Thank you for coming to my TEDxtalk, I am going to go throw myself in the nearest river (nonlethally).

[fareehaandspaniards]

Miquella is nice

After finishing the DLC, Miquella made me think a lot. Before the DLC, he had a rather… one-sided image, I don't know what else to call it. He was incredibly kind, and we saw references for his connection to St. Trina initially (because we still remember Gwyndolin, who lived as girl. And we know Fromsoftware loves the archetype of the sad feminine young man). Miquella was a victim, was a martyr, and was an incredibly kind soul who prayed for Godwyn and invented a true miracle - the Golden Needle, which can help to hold the rot.

But the DLC absolutely turned his image upside down! And it makes me very sad to see a character's incredible transition and acquisition of a new layer of morality (gray) labeled as "bad writing" and "fuck GRRM he spoiled my baby boyy :(((((".

Today after talking with my spouse (He always helps me realize any fragments of lore. Sometimes I have a hard time understanding the simplest things that everyone has long understood and accepted. Also! Happy birthday to my beloved!), I could only finally understand why everyone is getting so worked up about Michella, even though we've had a scenario similar to his "The road to Hell is paved with good intentions" a long time ago. That was Laurence, everyone's favorite in Bloodborne, and Gwyn (he really wanted good things and it didn't turn out well :/), etc. I'll also remind you that the fandom (in the general sense) of Fromsoftware games is very fond of villains, and that's fine. But for some reason, when Miquella turned out to be not the good guy everyone wanted him to be, no one appreciated it. And I tried to defend him to the last in a discussion with my husband - Miquella sacrificed everything for the "greater good" in his understanding of the word, Miquella went the way of renunciation, Miquella knew how to love and loved his sister, Miquella wanted to correct all the sins of the past.

However, unlike most Fromsoftware villains, Miquella HIDES his atrocities (even from himself). Nashandra, Shabriri, Micolash, anyone - their motives are clear. They have principles, egos, backstories, justifications for wanting to be a destructive factor, some have these reasons built in at birth, some are insane, etc. Miquella, on the other hand, finds followers by Dishonest means, condemns Radahn to suffering for which to end the festival is organized, leaves his sister to die, condemns Mohg to be a puppet in his scheming, and still thinks of himself as a VIRTUE. He believes that the era he is about to found - will be good and bright. And with words of goodness he kills us in battle with Radahn!

Miquella is a golden apple with a very rotten core. We don't know, really, at what point he started to "rot". What's funny is that of the two twins, Malenia was rotten on the outside and he was rotten on the inside.

Miquella's center is in love. He carries self-love everywhere, charming and falling in love with almost everyone. That is why Malenia says, "My brother will keep his promise. He possesses the wisdom, the allure, of a god - he is the most fearsome Empyrean of all." I think he is the type of child who got used to being loved. The problem with this type is that he can become a wonderful person, or he can turn into a monster who will take love and attention at any cost. (My spouse reminded me here of stories of crazed maniacs who kidnapped those they loved and dreamed of a nonexistent future, not realizing the damage they were doing.)

But there are many questions that, perhaps, everyone should answer for themselves?

What vow did Miquella make to Malenia?

In my opinion, Malenia was not charmed by him. I've always wondered WHY she waits for Miquella at the cocoon in the Tree, even though it clearly shows Miquella being stolen???? She knew, she probably knew his plan originally. She had been waiting for his return like a god. But what had he promised? That when he returned, he would cure her of the rot permanently?

When did Miquella begin his "fall"?

There is no denying that Miquella was a good guy. He tried, he tried to help his loved ones. He looked up to Radahn as a child with respect, as the description of Remembrance of a God and Lord says. Miquella was in harmony with his other self, Trina. But what changed him? Failures? The desire to save everyone at once? The desire to be the most loved? To be perfect - a god? I'm inclined to think it was all of those things that corrupted him at once. After all, as a favorite child, he may have been flawed deep inside from the beginning.

Miquella had resurrected Radahn as a young, beautiful warrior, just as he had been before. But Radahn does not utter a single phrase during the battle, and his movements are more automatic. Radahn feels nothing, and it makes me think more and more that he's more like Miquella's wish come true, his hope of having a worthy consort he loved by his side.

Is Radahn a puppet or a future lord?

Nothing has been confirmed. I've also read that Miquella's spell was broken when his rune was split, that's how many NPCs come to their senses and realize everything. But I think his power would be enough to, like a necromancer, control a resurrected one? And honestly, it's unlikely Radahn would have wanted such a fate. He was holding back fate itself, the stars, so that what did happen to him in the DLC wouldn't happen. Thanks to Miquella, Malenia had turned Caelid into a solid rotten mess and blossomed her divine flower, and left Radahn in an insane state waiting for a noble death at the hands of other warriors. Miquella mutilated him. I don't think Radahn would have appreciated his methods, considering how dedicated he is to warriorship and uprightness, and also honors Godfrey.

What would have happened if the Age of Compassion had happened?

I think it would have been VERY bad. And after a major flourish of life and honoring Miquella, there would have been a decline and another Shattering. Miquella shows himself to be a man who does not tolerate dissent. I think there would have been a flowering of the Inquisition, persecution, murder, and brutal tyranny. And Radahn, most likely, would have simply been "squeezed out" by Miquella and destroyed by his boundless love. Yes, Miquella rejects his love, as @jarognieva correctly pointed out. But he rejected, in my understanding (we need a clear translation from Japanese here), his destined love, i.e., his intended spouse, Trina? Just as Radagon was Marika's spouse. Our Marika is a deity, but she is capable of love - her love for her son, Godwyn, caused her heart to break.

Fandom cancelled Mohg, now he is cancelling Miquella. People don't accept and don't want to comprehend the things that make them change points of view. That's how the witch hunt begins! So stop being shitty and decide for yourself what you think of Miquella before claiming him a "bad written character"

Miquella, as a character, has become an incredible bastard, manipulative and truly evil with a mask of piety. He doesn't go into battle as an honest warrior, he uses others. He "sacrifices" himself by actually sacrificing everyone else. But doesn't that make him MORE interesting?

He's broken a lot of headcanons, but I sincerely hope that the wave of love for him as a VERY gray character will still come! After all, he's a worthy villain archetype! A true evil hidden in a pure soul. How many fanfics, how many musings can be spawned from that. No need to deny him, rather try to accept Miquella for who he is. And don't make it into "good" or "evil". There's a particular aesthetic to how awful Miquella is.

[thatdeadaquarius]

I have so many ideas but none of them can be put into words, all I can do is just wheeze as they come along🤣

Also remember how wordy and flowery Teyvat speech/dialogue is? ADD THAT TO THE FACT THAT TEYVAT HAS ITS OWN LANGUAGE---

Reader can understand the basic speech which is why they are so blunt (I love this idea so much 🤣) and can piece together an idea what the person is talking about.

*insert random person talking about a commission with a long ass backstory*

Traveller & Co.: *understands completely and making plans to retrieve said commission*

C!Reader: (They said they had a cart.... a bunch of hilichurls appeared... dancing?.... they want us to dance fight the hilichurls???? Dance off???)

Actual story->The person's cart got ambushed by a group of hilichurls and taunted them by dancing around it.

....... it doesnt always translate well

Also imagine Reader heaeing random names and overthinks it as a word instead of a name.

Example: Pantalone means pants in Philippine English (sorry not sorry Pantalone)

Tsaritsa??? Oh do they speak russian there??? - reader

Capitano -> captain in some countries

(I once mistake Sandrone as Sandalone and I just went "... ehh??? Standalone? Sandalone as in Sand Alone???? Sandal (Flip flops)????

Oh wait its Sandrone" ".... as in Sand and Drone??--)

-Vine Boom

VINE BOOM ANON MY BELOVED 💖❤🧡💛💚💙💜✨️✨️

Gif is me writing u anything ever:

AHFLALA FERRRALLL I STG I ALSO THOUGHT ABT THIS!! WHY U COULD ALSO BE BLUNT BC U ONLY GOT THE BASICS 💀 RIP

Man theyre written language looks so scary to learn, kinda like when I looked into trying to learn Mandarin/Japanese (and even Korean), the letters r just inherently so different i was so intimidated

And u dont even read it like left -> right like English

Omg i tried to reply to a arabic comment on my art post once, and i felt so acommplished when i finally was able to type "اشكرك (thanks)" but like, i had to put it on the OTHER SIDE OF THE TEXT BOX, LIKE ALIGN IT TO THE RIGHT INSTEAD OF HOW U KNOW ENGLISH IS INHERENTLY ALIGNED LEFT, IT WAS SO TRIPPY-

Going thru genshin life only understanding minimal words of anything anyone says is honestly how i feel like ive been playing Genshin LMAO

Those analysis videos/lore are saving a bitch's life out here

PANTALONE IS ALSO RLLY CLOSE TO SPANISH FOR PANTS I KNOW WHAT U MEANNN LOL

UR ENDLESS CONFUSION FOR SANDRONE PLEASE ANON U DIDNT EVEN GET IT RIGHT THE FIRST CORRECTION IT JUST KEPT GETTING WORSEEE ��😭 SAME THO

That would literally be you in genshin tho, like i could easily see it being like, back to back misunderstandings 😭😭

Like u think u got it right (Oh so his name is Rex Lapis, wait what? Morax? Ok his name is Morax...?? What??? Zhongli??? WHO IS THIS MAN-)

.

JFC first they gotta have a whole different language (like u saw in game)

And ON TOP OF THAT THEY CAN TALK FOR 10 MIN STRAIGHT ABT THE WEATHER OR SOME SHIT??

No... just, no.

U quickly decide u like what little bits of language u could pick up so far, which just results in,

U guessed it, simple speech and short fragmented sentences (or broken Teyvatian)

U cant even bring urself to care when u give half the characters a heart attack and send the rest into laughing fits

No fucks given, they wanna make this extra hard on u by being wordy on top of a new language,

Yeah u dont care what comes out of ur mouth anymore

Also, since everybody is raised in Teyvat very few ppl dont know the language, which once again brings us back to ancient/older deities/creatures who have a more simplistic version/outdated version of modern language

.

Omg getting stuff mistranslated bc u cant understand it all/only keywords sounds like hell but also rlly funny

Traveler/Paimon: "Alright, yes, all is well. We will accept this comission, and depart soon."

You: "...they want us to?? Dance fight?? Hilichurls...???"

Traveler just stares at u half in pity, half trying to hide their amused smile, Paimon is giggling

The commissioner is shook bc a supposed ancient creature?? Just accepted?? Their simple commission?? And u think they want u to dance battle???

.

PLEASE U MISTRANSLATE THE HARBINGERS NAMES RIGHT TO THEIR FACES

Signora: "You shall rue the day you crossed the Fatui mortals!"

You: "Lady we don't care, just fight us."

(Signora just means 'Lady')

Signora: *offended gasp*

Traveler/Paimon trying to stifle laughter

Raiden Shogun jaw dropped a little

.

Pantalone: "What a pleasure to finally meet you traveler, and thine wonderful companions!" *little bastard smile*

You: "And it was awful to meet you, Pants."

Pantalone: 😶😧😡 "Pants?! HOW DARE YOU NOT EVEN GIVE ME THE MOST BASE RESPECT, AFTER I GREETED THEE SO KINDLY-"

.

Oh its so funny, everytime you talk about Childe you always phrase it like he's an actual child bc u thought everyone was just calling him a little kid for some reason (u dont know how Teyvat ages work, he could be for all you know!)

Not very long, but Vine Boom anon your brain >>>>

Ur ideas r so on point, i love them sm

That makes perfect sense why u could be talking blunt too, like an in world explanation really

For you, all the desserts🥰 🤲🍪🍨🍰🍮🧋🍦🍡

Cheers,

🌒🌊🌧Aquarius♒️🌌🌘

[zwy01]

Raegyn doodles!

Yaaaaaaa giving my snarky smartass boy some love.

This is my OC, Raegyn Kertia! He is Regis and Rael’s son, and the latter’s heir.

I haven’t gone in depth with his backstory yet, so I figured I could do that lol. He’s one of my 15 “main” characters of my Millennium AU and his full bio is up in my pinned post.

I’ll be mentioning some other names in here too so to quickly recap, Raegyn is the older one of the two Regis/Rael kids and his full-sibling and younger sister is Arya K. Landegre. (Raegyn has three half-siblings, with his elder half-brother Kaelestis Blerster on Rael’s side, and younger half-brother Garyth J. Loyard and younger half-sister Alethea J. Loyard on Regis’ side.) Raegyn has a pretty good relationship with his loving family, buuut it wasn’t always like that, which is the fun part I’m getting to later. Woo!

Raegyn is a really interesting one and I had so much fun making his design and I can’t wait to dive into his story in detail. Let’s get started yaaa! My beloved Ray’s (almost) full backstory.

So we already know that Raegyn is the smartest and most popular of his generation. The star of the show, the center of attention, Lukedonia’s local celebrity… the number one guy. Loved by all, respected by all. Everyone wants to be his friend, maybe even competing with each other for his attention. People constantly shower him with admiration. It’s like he’s walking on the red carpet wherever he goes. People just can’t get enough of him. It’s always “how is Raegyn?”, “what is Raegyn doing today?”, and “I need Raegyn’s advice, where can I find him?”… etc. People are always saying his name, and frankly, he enjoys the attention he receives. Sometimes he thinks it’s funny how he’s not the Lord yet he arguably gets more enthusiasm from the general population than she does. Hah. Hilarious.

Raegyn’s just so lucky, isn’t he? He’s got the brains, a radiating confidence, an irresistible charm, a loving family, and a literal empire of friends… if life is a giant lottery then he had already won it all. Life can’t possibly get better than what it is now, can it? Well, for Raegyn, life is good indeed. Very good.

Everything he has ever wanted gets handed to him easily. If not, he just needs a minute to work it out in his head and say a little something to make the other person give in, and it works every single time even when his requests are obviously beyond reasonable. Basically, Raegyn knows how to use his thinking skills and his natural charm to his complete advantage. Thus life is easy for him.

But because everything comes so easily, life… is also boring. There was nothing to surprise him, to make him go “well that was fresh”. Now what? Life is predictable and repetitive, at least from his experience, because he is so capable of fine tuning things and people to be the way he wants. And the thing is Raegyn does like to be in control of every precise detail in his life, so he would rather have life be a bit boring than to give up on steering everything in his direction. Sometime in his early childhood, he had a single taste of being in control, and he has been hooked ever since. To lose that control would be a big no-no for him. Frankly, without it, he probably has little idea of how to actually live life as it is, which is letting things naturally unfold without his intervention. Yeah. He’d actually physically cringe if he had to stay idle.

This leads to my next point, which is Raegyn’s childhood. Oh boy. How do I even begin. Raegyn is the first child between Regis and Rael, but he’s not Rael first child. Rael is the soul fragment donor of Karias’ heir Kaelestis, who is Raegyn’s elder half-brother. This means Kaelestis is technically Rael’s first child, though the latter is merely a donor in both title and practice. Despite that, Rael was very much involved in Kaelestis’ early childhood as an adult figure, a mentor etc. Kaelestis adored his donor “other parent”, and Rael loved his sweet Blerster boy very much. Donor and son were close and made wonderful memories together, which led to Rael becoming very excited to have his own heir. Maybe even the exact reason why Raegyn was born not very long after Rael and Karias had Kaelestis. (Raegyn was born when Kaelestis was the equivalent of a 6-8 year old human) Rael was more than ecstatic to bond with his second son, his beloved heir, the light of his life. He loved his little boy with all his heart and he couldn’t wait to experience the joy of parenting. He was certain that it was going to be great.

Eeeexcept it didn’t go quite as Rael had expected. Uh oh. The fact that Raegyn didn’t automatically love Rael wasn’t even the worst part about it. Raegyn seemed to despise him. This hurt Rael very much, as he didn’t understand why his heir didn’t want anything to do with him. Raegyn resisted being communicated with telepathically, ignored words spoken at him, never responded to questions, looked away when being looked at, and squirmed with all his strength when any adult tried to hold him. At one point Rael gave up on trying to read Raegyn’s mind because he would find some… not so nice things Raegyn had to say about him, and he didn’t need to break his own heart any further. Rael didn’t know what he had done wrong, if anything. He had already gained experience as a parent from his time with Kaelestis; he learned how to be around kids, what to do and what not to do, and in general just how to handle them. He just couldn’t get his second son to like him. Something is wrong here. Kaelestis was fine with him, then why doesn’t Raegyn like him? And it wasn’t just Rael. Regis was also very puzzled by their son’s behavior, as Raegyn seemed to actively resist him as well. Regis tried to comfort his husband by telling him to not take it personally, because Raegyn… well, he disliked everyone equally. Rael was not convinced at all. Rip. At least Regis tried.

And so this went on for a while, until by complete chance a very tired Regis chuckled something along the lines of “You know what, child? Your behavior isn’t helpful in the slightest, and your father and I are having a hard time. Here, why don’t we make a deal so all of us get the most out of it while we’re still living in the same house?” Boom. That was it. The correct answer. To both his parents’ surprise, Raegyn actually responded. He turned around, stared at his fathers in the eyes, and said “Only if you have something good enough to offer. Just so you know, I won’t settle for less. Very well, Rael Kertia and Regis K. Landegre. Convince me.” Regis swore he heard Rael’s jaw drop to the floor, and he himself was speechless. So their son was capable of communicating with them after all, it’s just that he never did simply because he didn’t want to. The two of them came to the conclusion that their son didn’t like being treated like a child, and they were using the wrong approach the entire time. Regis and Rael thought they were doing the right thing, but they were quite mistaken, as their son needed to be treated as an adult, basically as their equal. None of that kiddie talk, mushy coddling, nonstop love smothering… nope. Interact with him like they would with any other adult? Yep, that got Raegyn talking and assured that they would get milder and even positive responses from him.

That’s when Regis and Rael realized that Raegyn was different, even if they can’t put their finger on it. It was a mix of surprise and curiosity. As impressive as it was, they couldn’t help but feel uncanny. Maybe they were even a bit reluctant to admit that they were uneasy, but Raegyn was their son after all, and they didn’t want to overthink it. I mean, this kid’s first (spoken) words were him trying to bargain with his parents. Maybe their son was just being funny and pranking them all along. They laughed it off, no big deal, all while still keeping an eye out for their unusual kid. From then on they’d modify their approach with their son and things changed for the better and Rael was finally able to bond with Raegyn, though not quite in the way he had expected. Anything is better than nothing, so Rael has no complaints. He might as well beg his son for attention if he really is that desperate.

What about from Raegyn’s perspective? Well, unfortunately, Raegyn wasn’t being funny nor was he pulling pranks on his parents. He was dead serious. He was no ordinary child, and he hated being treated as one. To Raegyn, his parents and the other adults treating him like a baby was a direct insult because he thought the adults were messing with him. That’s correct. Raegyn believed that the adults somehow conspired together and formed a sort of mutual agreement between them where they all treat him like he doesn’t know any better because they think he’s too dumb or something. It wasn’t until later, when Raegyn eventually realized that he himself was the outlier, the odd one out, not them. The adults handled him like they would with any normal noble child. Still, Raegyn disliked it, and it felt disturbing to him. In his eyes, it was like some sort of shallow game of pretend, ill humor that he can never bring himself to appreciate.

That’s why Raegyn purposely ignored the adults even when they demanded his attention, because why on earth would he respond to their silly games? That would just be positive reinforcement and they’d force that shit on him even more. But being the extremely smart kid he is, he is aware of his own gains and losses. He knew he didn’t want to pretend to be a normal kid, he didn’t want to copy their mannerisms just so he could fit in, because that just isn’t him. Blegh. Gross. Reducing himself to their level…nuh uh. But he also figured out that pretending to be one gets him what he wants. To be precise, when Raegyn is his usual self, the adults feel uncanny and have mixed reactions. On the contrary… when he pretends to be normal, they react very positively. Isn’t that weird. Turns out adults like cute kids that act like kids instead of kids that make them uncomfortable by acting way beyond their age.

So Raegyn adapts. Inquire about their day, be enthusiastic and beg to be allowed to tag along, maybe even cry some fake tears when they say no until they say yes. Smile at them and watch them sign boring paperwork all day. Fake interest in their tedious gardening tasks, patrol duty, anything the adults were up to. And when that’s done, ask for new toys and clothes. That shiny ruby brooch? Pout and say you like it very much and want to have it, and Clan Leader is the best dad in the world because he gets what Rayray wants. And with that, maybe a matching bow tie. And a matching silk shirt. And a matching fur coat. You get it. It didn’t take long for Raegyn to master the art of acting and now he’s got everyone wrapped around his little finger. That’s where the fake smiling and enthusiasm began, and he never stopped ever since. Regis and Rael were happy for their little boy, because he finally acted more like a normal child. But deep down they knew he is an outlier, as they had been dealing with his true self until now. They didn’t understand why Raegyn seemingly became normal overnight, but to question that would be useless. Well… at least Raegyn looked like he’s finally enjoying himself now, and that’s a good thing, right? Deep down, they knew something was up. Obviously there was a reason for Raegyn’s sudden behavioral change, but to investigate it would break Raegyn’s trust so ultimately they did nothing and hoped for the best. For Raegyn’s future, and their future together as a family.

Raegyn’s always constantly evolving depending on who he’s dealing with. By the time he was around the equivalent of a 10 year old human, his false persona is such an integral part of his life, he never goes outside without this metaphorical mask. Despite Raegyn’s success at adapting himself into society in the present day, his childhood was a difficult one, at least in the very beginning. It did get better as he got older, but fundamentally, he is still the same on the inside. Raegyn hated how things were structured and the expectations he was obligated to fulfill. Raegyn didn’t understand why he was automatically expected to give his parents his unconditional love, respect, and attention just because they were the cause of his birth and entire existence. That’s the reason? Wow. He never asked to be born, not that he minds existing or anything, but more so it was just weird to him how now he’s permanently stuck with two adults who are way too obsessed with him for their own good, and he won’t be able to get away from them for centuries. His parents got sad when he didn’t respond to them, especially Rael. What did they expect anyway? To Raegyn, things like respect and love had to be earned, and no one automatically deserves it just because of “family” or whatever shallow term they use. And this applies to his own parents as well. If Regis and Rael wanted him to obey and love them, then they have to earn it, and prove themselves worthy. To Raegyn, even if they are his parents, they’re just like any other person out there. They were strangers he couldn’t separate himself from. The point is Raegyn isn’t purposely trying to distance himself from his parents specifically; that’s just how his brain works.

The good news is Raegyn eventually does develop genuine love for his family, which happens during his childhood. It’s true that Raegyn had his doubts about unconditional love and whether that even existed or not, but being the smart person he is, he did pick up on his parents’ love for him. They genuinely care about him, and he… appreciates that. So they were being serious this whole time. Raegyn, who is always right, was wrong, for the first time in his life. Raegyn was finally defeated, in a good sense. It feels good to be loved. But as much as Raegyn was impressed, he was also bothered by something. He was touched by Regis and Rael’s sincerity, and for that he is grateful, but something felt off. That’s when Raegyn realized he was feeling guilt for the very first time, for everything he had done to his parents. To this day, guilt remains the only emotion Raegyn can immediately and correctly identify, which is something I will bring up later. Every other emotion, even the positive ones, he has to think about it.

For the most part, Raegyn is neutral. Even when his little sister Arya was born, he didn’t feel anything. She was just another being he had to live with from now on, just because they share the same parents. Not only was he expected to tolerate her, he was supposed to take care of her. Ick. Luckily Raegyn does develop a genuine bond with Arya, even if it took a long time. They are close as siblings, and Regis and Rael? They were super relieved that Raegyn seemed to accept his little sister immediately, and even more relieved that Arya was a normal child with normal development. To be honest, Regis and Rael were nervous about having their second child aka Regis’ heir because they were afraid that Raegyn would react negatively. Surprise surprise, he didn’t. That is character development right there, from resisting his own parents to welcoming a new sibling with open arms. The truth is Raegyn simply made an effort to prevent his true apathetic self from seeping out because he didn’t want to ruin the moment for his parents. If he were to be honest, well… he couldn’t care less if Arya vanished into thin air on the spot. Raegyn only did it because he didn’t want that feeling called “guilt” to bother him for years to come, so he might as well be nice. Even if Raegyn’s goodwill didn’t stem from true consideration, it was still a massive improvement. He is still learning, but he is getting there… right? Only he knows.

To say that Raegyn doesn’t doubt his relationship with his family anymore, and that he trusts them unconditionally, would be a lie. His parents would die for him, and his sister adores him. He’s sure of that. But on second thought… do they really? This is how Raegyn falls into the perpetual cycle of questioning himself. That’s why he is so conflicted. He feels guilty because he is doubting those he should trust the most, and then he decides to give them his complete trust in order to get rid of that sense of guilt he got from doubting them in the first place, and finally ending it by rescinding that trust because he realizes he was foolish enough to trust anyone but himself. Rinse and repeat. Then again he overthinks it because he just can’t help it. This entire ordeal bothers him, and he would never admit it. In the long run, Raegyn overthinking things would go on to hurt his own ability to make meaningful relationships with people, and that is something I will bring up later.

Now onto the last bits of Raegyn’s childhood before I move to the time skip. I want to mention Raegyn’s relationship with his peers too. Ever since Raegyn’s birth, he has been silently watching and judging everything and everyone. He could be minding his own business, but his eyes were always looking at something. Even if he didn’t want to be a part of whatever the other kids were doing, he wanted to know what’s up, so he observes them from a distance. And he was always disappointed, of course. I mean, this is Raegyn, why wouldn’t he?

They weren’t bright enough to hold an interesting conversation with Raegyn. They got bored, whined, fidgeted, or fell asleep when he wanted to talk about a very long and obscure piece of ancient Lukedonian history that he recently taught himself. Or that time when all the kids just got up and left, when he promised them he was bringing “something super valuable” to their next “playdate”, and everyone expected a treasure map or something and instead Raegyn rolled out a five meter long checklist on how Lukedonian laws can be improved. Raegyn is, of course, very offended. This is his ideal vision of a playdate, after all, because playing means having fun. And this really is what Raegyn thinks is FUN. And his peers? Raegan’s giving up on them. They’re all under-qualified. Every single one of them. Too slow, too dim. Too hyper, too lazy. Too impulsive, too cowardly, etc. They weren’t worth his time, and to spend an extra minute with them was a waste of his energy. Thus Raegyn was a lonely child. He was surrounded by people, yet he didn’t like their company. He didn’t enjoy what they had to offer, yet he couldn’t fit in as himself either.

Raegyn wanted something else. Something more grand, more controversial; something that shakes the very foundation of noble society. History, philosophy, ethics, anything really. The deeper it is, the better. Sometimes even the more taboo, the better, as he likes a good challenge. He wants to hang out with someone who has the capacity to prove him wrong, and reaaaaally force him to get those brain cells working. A good, long debate is more thrilling than the best spar. He needed someone to share that joy of thinking with, someone who truly resonates with his passions. An intellectual soulmate basically. Just a reminder that Raegyn is still the human equivalent of an elementary school kid at this point. He already knew what he wanted in a friend, which is someone who can really match his wavelength, yet this person simply didn’t exist. Raegyn was frustrated. And the thing is Raegyn is an extrovert by nature so he does need a decent amount of socializing to stay healthy emotionally, except there’s no one at his caliber to keep him in company where he genuinely feels fulfilled. This is where things get complicated, and Raegyn is conflicted. He needed that company, but he couldn’t find the right people despite his best efforts. Raegyn was lonely, and his fathers noticed how their son would just slouch and sigh all day.

This would lead to Regis and Rael insisting on Raegyn hanging out with the other kids, because there must be something they can bond over, right…? What they weren’t aware of was how Raegyn was simply at the top, and his loneliness couldn’t be solved with a simple solution, if at all. What about Raegyn? Well, he knew that obeying his parents would cause him less trouble than resisting them, so he obliged. If it makes his fathers happy to see him happy then… he’s willing to pretend to get along with the others for as long as his sanity remains.

So what happened was Raegyn put aside his desire to talk about great subjects and deep matters, and simply went with the flow. He pretended to enjoy their tea parties, tree climbing, fishing, wrestling, etc. It was all so boring and tedious. And then it hit him. Hey… they didn’t whine and run away this time. They reacted quite positively when he pretended to be interested in their shallow activities. They even invited him back. Now that was easy, wasn’t it? Raegyn remembered the tactics he used on his parents and the adults. If he could manipulate them, maybe he could do it to his peers. He did crave that social interaction, and even if what was available to him wasn’t nearly enough to satisfy him, it was still better than nothing.

And even if he honestly wasn’t interested in his peers and what they were doing, the principle of making and having friends wasn’t bad at all. Raegyn already knew that if he made an effort to someone, they would reciprocate it. Take that, and times one thousand, maybe even more. If he shall pretend to be friendly to one person, might as well do it to everyone, because the amount of effort he has to make is the same anyway. And you never know when having a bunch of friends is useful. Who knows. He could get some of them to run errands for him. Give him their things. Tell him useful secrets and information that they shouldn’t be spilling. Maybe one of them will even be willing to die for him. Neat. And this is when Raegyn decided to go all out, and there he established his signature false persona of a friendly, enthusiastic, altruistic, diplomatic, insightful and responsible Kertia heir. He calculated his potential gains, and his conclusion was that the pros outnumbered the cons and this was the way to go. Not only could he impress his parents, but he could also get himself an empire of friends that might become useful to him. Surely this is a better alternative to wandering around aimlessly trying to find his own match. Now he could aim to climb to the top AND find his own match at the same time, sweet! Kiddie Raegyn is tapping into his ambitious side, how wonderful.

(FYI Izar does come up later on but that dude is only interested in math and astronomy, which isn’t enough for Raegyn. And there is an age gap between the two of them: Raegyn is roughly 200-400 years older than the traitor clan kids group so Raegyn was already an adult by the time Izar came into existence. And I say “roughly” because nothing with the ages are set in stone and I’d like it to be flexible so that’s just approximations for context. Anyways)

Yayyyy. Fast forward to Raegyn in the present day as a young adult.

Raegyn’s reputation is perfect. He is perfect. His ambitious childhood goal was to make everyone love him, aaaaand he 100% succeeded. People knew his name, and you could bet that at any given moment, someone in Lukedonia is talking about him, praising him for everything he has done. He’s the big shot. No one would ever guess that behind the glorious, radiating light of his persona hides a cold and apathetic true self. He worked hard to get to where he is today, and he isn’t going to admit to everyone he’s been lying this whole time because that would be throwing his merits away. He has his empire of friends, why would he give up on that? They love him for his false persona, then so be it. He’ll keep it up until he dies.

Part of him legitimately believes that his gains are worth it, and part of him feels like he has gone too far to go back. As much as Raegyn would hate to admit it, he isn’t quite sure who he would be without his false persona. As in, he is afraid to know what will become of him, what will remain of him if he is left alone with his true self. Which is funny because for a person whose hobby is thinking, he doesn’t want to think about that. In a way he is running way from himself, and he knows he feels slightly uncomfortable because fundamentally, that isn’t what he wants. But all these years he couldn’t find his match, nor did Lukedonia have anything else to offer to satisfy someone of his intellectual level. He was losing his patience, but there was nothing he could do. Raegyn never forgot his true self, and he never abandoned it either; he is just suppressing it… to the best of his ability. His vision of a fulfilling life wasn’t realistic, at least from his perspective, so he turned to what he is doing now. He has many, many friends, but no one whom he truly bonds with. He owns many things and people also keep giving him things, yet he has no use for them and isn’t interested in them either. Raegyn started to feel restless. Despite that, he made sure that side of him never showed, to not worry his family, and because he is also too prideful to admit that he’s sick of it too.

That’s when Raegyn discovers a new method of entertainment. He is a nice guy, right? Everyone loves him, that’s a fact. They didn’t know that he had been silently judging them, being nice on the surface and saying mean things about them in his head at the same time. Raegyn needed a new rush of fun. Something fresh to make him feel excited again.

And then… yeah. Raegyn sets his next goal as “seeing how far he can discreetly push people’s buttons without getting into real trouble”. Only a few individuals have his complete respect therefore excluded from his list of “people I can smartass” list… and for the rest of them? They’re all there for his amusement. Even Lord Raskreia.

Oh yeah, her. Remember how I mentioned that Raegyn only believes in authority that is earned? Well, he’s one of the nobles who believe that Raskreia is incompetent. In his eyes she is not qualified to sit on the throne. Too dependent on her feelings, too stubborn, too impulsive… he could go on forever. If it weren’t for the Previous Lord, she wouldn’t even be sitting there on the throne. Raegyn thinks he’s a better candidate for the position of Lord than her. Maybe even the best candidate. Too bad Raegyn isn’t interested in becoming Lord, even if he is curious about the idea of what it is like for him to become Lord. Real life Lord? No thank you. Too many responsibilities, bleh. He wanted to have fun without responsibility, and being Lord would mean having all sources of his entertainment cut off. And his own clan, the Kertia, and Grandia, are pretty cool so… you’re welcome. Meanwhile he can just judge her from the side and keep testing her discreetly to see how smart she is. Which is even funnier because Raegyn should fear Raskreia, as she is his Lord. But just as much as he believes authority should be earned, the fear that comes with authority should also be earned. And Raskreia doesn’t even qualify for that from Raegyn’s perspective. She doesn’t deserve his loyalty. (His cousin Reiner does, which I will explain in a future post where I highlight the cousins’ relationship with one another)

Anyways. Despite Raegyn’s false friendliness and hidden apathy, he does encounter people who genuinely want to connect with him in the midst of him fooling around with his celebrity persona. He is aware that most people love him for the show he puts on, and he’s fine with that. But every now and then there would be someone who wants to know more about him. Someone who doesn’t just want to know Raegyn the great and glorious, but also the mundane Raegyn. The everyday Raegyn. The kind of music he enjoys, what flowers he finds pretty, even the kind of weather he finds the most soothing. The smaller details of his life that people usually don’t associate with him, because he’s known for his great accomplishments. And Raegyn is capable of detecting genuine effort and… this is exactly what makes him uncomfortable. He is confused, surprised, and doesn’t know what to do.

This is where my previous point comes in. Remember when I said Raegyn is struggling in a perpetual cycle of guilt and doubt? Well, this is because Raegyn believes that all relationships are fundamentally transactional. Let it be parent and child, friends, lovers, ruler and subject. People only stuck together for some sort of gain, for their own benefit. It took him a long time to accept his own parents and develop what he would call love for them, and even then, he’d occasionally find himself questioning their relationship. It’s even harder for outsiders, whom he basically categorizes as anyone who is not direct family. The thing is Raegyn is incapable of forming meaningful relationships with anyone. He has a massive following, but no one good friend to share his life with. Not because they didn’t make an effort, but because he kept pushing them away. Raegyn was the one who drove them away when they got too close, even if that meaningful connection was what he yearned for. You can say that Raegyn is projecting himself onto others. Raegyn is almost entirely unable to treat someone genuinely, as he is used to a life full of manipulation and lies where he is the one doing all the manipulating. This is the problem because he’s been doing this for so long, he doesn’t know how to treat someone genuinely. In fact, he can’t really recall when was the last time he treated someone with honesty. By his logic and projection, he believes that those who are trying to take a further step to connect to him are trying to manipulate him, and they’re being dishonest. Do you see where I am getting at. He mistakes all of that for deception from the other side. Karma, reaping what you sow… whatever it is, is coming to kick him in the ass. Now he’s stuck in the loop of pushing people away and complaining about why he just can’t find people to bond with.

If Raegyn could just set aside his need for finding his so-called intellectual rival, he could’ve found a best friend already. Someone who doesn’t necessarily share his capabilities, but truly cares for him. His unrealistic standards and need to maintain his pride is hindering him, yet he can’t quite let it go. Raegyn the glorious is truly pathetic. What a shitshow.

Good news is, eventually he does find a best friend! Like an actual best friend. No bullshitting, no lies. Someone whom he is comfortable enough with to completely drop his act and just be himself, and that person is… Jia! Wait, isn’t she the dumb one? Aren’t they the complete opposites? Yep! They’re healthy best friends, which is nothing less than a miracle. They bring out the best in each other. I’ll be talking about that in a future post!

More on his general personality. Raegyn is a bit snarky and arrogant at times, but people can’t ever get mad at him. He always gets away with being a lil’ shit, because… well, he’s never wrong. No matter how much you want to slap him in the face for something he said, even if you are dead sure that he definitely had no good intentions, when you think about it again… hey, he’s actually right. It makes sense, even if it hurts to hear. He’s totally right. Damn, how did you even get mad at him in the first place? That was dumb, wasn’t it. Now you should slap yourself in the face. You are wrong, because he is right. This is Raegyn, after all. He can present an insult as a compliment. He can turn something totally unfriendly and malicious into a piece of enlightenment, and all of a sudden you actually owe him because he gave you precious insight.

Now you’re curious and decide to stick around to see what other interesting things he has yet to show you. You discover that he’s very friendly and outgoing, and he’s actually considerate and always has solutions to your problems, and makes an effort to make your day. He’s witty, humorous, and a joy to be around, even if he throws a dark joke every now and then, but again you can’t help but let it slide. You start to really appreciate him and don’t even realize this is exactly what he wants to trick you into thinking. One more follower to add to his already super massive following; another shiny chess piece that he has successfully collected for his observation platform of… whatever they truly are to him. He makes it so that you feel like he’s there to entertain you and keep you company, but in reality, it’s the opposite. You’re there to entertain him, for as long as his shallow interest in you remains, which likely won’t last for much longer either. And when he gets bored and very discreetly kicks you out of his life, you’ll feel like it was your fault and now you’re jealous of his other friends and yearn to hang out with him again, even if it means doing whatever it takes to get him back. Raegyn is 100% aware of this, and he definitely enjoys it. He didn’t ask for an encore, yet it came by its own accord. Nice, even more drama for him sip on to ward off some of that boredom before he finds a new source of short-term entertainment.

(BTW just for clarification Raegyn never does anything illegal or anything that can potentially get him in trouble if he gets caught. He’s probably smart enough to get away with it anyway if he really wanted to commit crime for fun but then he doesn’t need to do that. His smartassing, bullshitting, manipulation etc is just on a personal level and never goes beyond that. Even if he’s borderline desperate for entertainment, he won’t do anything that has actual consequences. That’s why he’s not dangerous, he’s just petty and at most a pain in the ass. Can’t throw him in jail or anything, even grounding him would be excessive. He eventually does join Gloria and her search party for Reiner for a certain reason and that’s for another post too)

Just don’t delve any deeper or try to look behind Raegyn’s mask, because you will find something you don’t want to see, and something he doesn’t want to see, and it’s going to be a hot mess.

When he’s not being serious, he is pretty funny. If you can refrain from questioning his personality, he’s actually quite the humor depository. It manifests in the way that when he tries to be funny, it’s like he’s insulting you and when he is actually insulting you, you think he’s just being funny. If you’re in for a short-term, superficial friendship or just need to waste some time, he’s the perfect person to hang out with. He’s not going to be serious anyway, so if you’re interested, meet up and chat away. Just don’t actually develop an attachment to him and you’re good, because it’s no good for either of you. If it’s just for fun and nothing serious, totally go for it. He’ll keep you entertained and (hopefully) you’ll keep him entertained, and if you can handle some occasional arrogance and cheekiness from him, you’ll have a blast, and he’ll make you laugh. Win-win!

(I wanted to get to the details of Raegyn’s crush on Umbra + who he actually eventually settles down with in this post but it was already too long so I’ll do it separately in another post in the future)

And that’s it! Maybe I’ll do another one of these long character posts in a few months. Idk. When I feel like it. Feel free to let me know if there is any particular one you want to see next (did Kaekae last time, Raegyn this time, so 13 out of 15 left) but I will get to all of them eventually. Maybe will take years to complete but I want to get it done lol.

Again, thank you for reading, and stay tuned for future posts!

[silver-starss]

Ahsoka ep 6 thoughts

Ahsoka asking for a children's story and even having a favorite version. She's one of us! <3

"A long time ago in a galaxy far far away" That line went straight for the jugular huh

Intergalactic rainbow hyperspace travel my beloved

The music when arriving on Peridea is right on point. Also love the design with the rings being bones fragments. Very cool and unsettling stuff.

Can't say I'm a fan of the Nightsister lore retcon, even if it does explain Morgan's role in navigating between galaxies

Wait was that Claudia Black? Morrigan in Star Wars?

Thrawn making a dramatic ass entrance lmao

THRAWN!!! I missed your voice!!!!

That hairline is yikes but aside from that he looks faithful to the cartoon

More backstory on Baylan and Shin! I think we all knew that she wasn't from the Order, but I still want to know how she fell in with Baylan.

Sabine and the howler was oddly endearing, ngl

EZRA!!!! HOLY FUCKIGM SHIT

Ezra Bridger my beloved

Five years of waiting! Finally over!!!

People speculating if he'd have long hair or a beard. Why not both??

Eman Esfani is on point. Really great casting!

"I can't wait to go home" OOF. And Sabine's face when he says that! That line made me tear up. Even assuming he gets to return with Ahsoka and Huyang, that still hurts like hell

God he's going to be so mad when he finds out what she pulled to get here. Not looking forward to the emotional pain of that conversation.

Where's Ahsoka???

A bit weird that the titular character only had like five minutes of screentime, but at least the plot moved forward in a significant way. I imagine episodes 7 and 8 will make up for it.

I feel like we're in store for a Baylan/Shin and Sabine/Ezra teamup. Thrawn and Morrigan leave them to die, and Ezra (being the generally compassionate person that he is) insists on taking them with him when he returns to the GFFA.

[oasisofgalaxies]

who Is Rhodes

tell me all of the things

HEHEHE OK

This is Rhodes, aka Riley Caboose, aka Spartan P-011, aka Agent Rhodes Island! Shes a mix between a Halo oc and a Red vs Blue oc!! She’s my beloved baby girl and the only thing stronger than herself is the guilt on her shoulders !!!!!

She was abducted inducted into the Spartan 2.5 program (look the mortality rate between II and III dropped from 56% to ~0% that technological leap had to come from somewhere) at age six along with her brother, Caboose, age five. She grew up in the program and they both graduated. In their third mission as full Spartans they were cryo’d for a trip and that’s when Everything Went Wrong !!

This part I’m still ironing out but the essential idea is that the ship they were cryo’d in was attacked or tampered with causing the onboard systems to “defrost” Rhodes as she was the mission’s leader. She was doing a check when whatever was fucking things up made itself VERY known. Through a series of terrible events she ended up being the only one surviving that mission. I have a very strong mental image of her floating outside the ship in her suit watching it slowly explode. And just watching in horror because her men are on that ship. Her brother is on that ship.

Anyways I have no idea how Caboode survived that and I’ll figure it out eventually but Rhodes thinks he’s dead and it’s all her fault! Yay! Anyways years pass and weee Project Freelancer hurrayyyy! There she meets Agent Arizona, Ari for short, and they immediately become friends! Just kidding Rhodes is a brick wall friendship wise because she’s terrified of vulnerability and becoming attached to people. Ari does not care and takes this as a personal challenge. Eventually Rhodes sorta warms up to her but it takes. Fucking forever.

Anyways during PFL she meets Lambda, the AI assigned to her! Lambda is the Patience fragment! They’re the grey figure floating on her shoulder in the first picture! (By the way, Ari gets Xi, who’s Curiosity!) They get along fine, but they become friends after PFL once Rhodes opens up more. Shes. Very cagey still. Poor thing.

Anyways PFL goes to shit and Ari loses an arm in the crash. Rhodes carries her for forever, fighting off the Meta while they’re going, until they reach some kind of outpost and are able to get Ari medical attention. Everything sucks and they travel for a while, not knowing what to do with themselves. At some point in this part which isn’t really fleshed out too much, they discover that they’re actually sisters!

So when Rhodes was little, she was the ringleader of her trio of siblings among the many she had. Rhodes was the oldest, Caboose was the middlest, and Ari was the youngest. Ari was a pretty sickly kid so Rhodes and Caboose took care of her. When Rhodes and Caboose were taken, she didn’t believe the flash clones that replaced her siblings were, well, her siblings. So she’s been searching for them ever since and one of them was right under her nose this entire time!

Anyways Ari wants to look for Caboose but Rhodes has to break it to her that he’s dead. Again this part isn’t very fleshed out but either way they somehow end up on Chorus because the tractor beam of fate decreed it. They end up there and realize, oh fuck, this planet is in the middle of a civil war. Rhodes is immediately hellbent on helping these people because this is the thing she was literally made to. So they become. Actually now that I think about it, opposites of Felix and Locus. They split up, Ari going to Armonia and Rhodes to Mirage. They keep in touch and discuss ways to help reunite the two warring factions. Here they meet the Red and Blues, they find Caboose, SO many tears are shed, and yeah!

That’s. A super brief summary of her backstory and I still left out so much even tho it’s so fucking long I am so sorry

TL;DR Rhodes/Riley is a person who was abducted into the Spartan program along with her brother, eventually became a freelancer after the believed death of her brother, and finds her siblings and also her sense of humanity along the way!!

A huge part of her story is remembering how to be a person after the program. She has the “I’m just a weapon and a tool” mentality to struggle with and OH BOY DOES SHE STRUGGLE. But with help from Ari and Caboose and the friends she makes along the way she learns how to be a person again :) and how to be happy!!!!!!

Oh also she is a car guy. She loves working on cars and vehicles in general it’s her specialty !!

I love her so much she is everything to me !! Also fun fact I associate her with lions a lot

^ Rhodes fr

[desertleviathan]

The Amaranthine Maw Pirates

So I have a little FC on Sargatanas Server that's currently just a place to park my alts, and in the process of developing them all I've embroidered their backstories together until they're all part of the same Sky Pirate crew.

The original Amaranthine Maw crew operated under Captain R'kshasa Nunh, and at the time were as notorious as the Bloody Executioners, the Sanguine Sirens, or any of the other great pirate companies of Limsa Lominsa, past or present. When R'kshasa decided it was time to retire, he unexpectedly bypassed his oldest son for promotion, and named his Hyur master-at-arms the new captain of the Amaranthine Maw's dread ship, the Mako. This was not without controversy, but the majority of the crew opted to stick around under the new captain, Siege Zabac.

Keep reading below the cut for crew portraits and biographical summaries.

NAME: Siege Zabac RANK: Captain ANCESTRY: Hyur Highlander PRIMARY JOB: Siege is at the level cap with All Jobs and Classes, but Dragoon, Monk, Machinist, Red Mage, Gunbreaker, Sage, Fisher, and Culinarian have received extra attention. I expect Viper to join that list in 7.0 PLACE OF ORIGIN: Ala Ghiri, Ala Mhigo

Captain Siege Zabac is, in my timeline, the canon Warrior of Light, Champion of Eorzea, Victor of the Dragonsong War, Liberator of Doma and Ala Mhigo, Savior of Etherys, and so on.

He is also a former pirate, and kind of an unapologetic dirtbag. Not a bad guy, just... not a great respecter of laws, governments, and the unspoken codes of polite society. His overall vibe is like your weird uncle who's not allowed to babysit any more because he kept taking you across state lines to buy illegal fireworks. A dude who lives life in such a way that he knows all the cops at county lockup by first name.

His original tenure as a pirate captain lasted only a handful of years before destiny took him by the scruff of the neck and set him on another path. During the Battle of Carteneau, Siege took the Mako into Imperial-controlled waters nearby to try to sink as many supply ships as possible. The Mako racked up quite a kill count, before a fragment of Dalamud capsized it. Only a handful of crew members survived, and Siege himself washed ashore days later, unconscious but still gripping the splintered remains of the Mako's wheel.

Once he recovered he took up Adventuring as a profession, lacking the funds or skills to do much else, and then the events of the MSQ from 2.0 on happened to him (aside from a few minor personal deviations from canon).

And now? The star is mostly safe. The Scions are mostly disbanded. And Siege has the money and contacts to maybe get a new ship. But not a sailing ship, he has no intention of spitting directly on Merlwyb's edict. This time it'll be a Sky Ship. The second Mako is gonna fly, baby!

At Siege's side, the Major General is the Mako's beloved mascot, a bipedal amphibious shark that the Captain fished up one day and decided to keep as a pet.

NAME: R'khsana Jannat RANK: First Mate ANCESTRY: Seeker of the Sun Miqo'te PRIMARY JOB: Viper looks like it was made for her. SECONDARY JOBS: Bard, White Mage, Weaver, Fisher PLACE OF ORIGIN: Limsa Lominsa, literally born on board the original Mako

When R'kshasa Nunh passed over his eldest son to promote Siege to captain, R'jannat Tia took as many crew members as he could get to follow him and left to try to start his own rival crew. It didn't go well. R'jannat was a hell of a capable administrator, but was too cautious for the buccaneering lifestyle. Before long, R'jannat reconciled with his father and admitted that it was the right call, and eventually succeeded R'kshasa as Nunh, taking over stewardship of the clan's extensive holdings in the Cieldalaes. And, incidentally, becoming the lawful owner of the Mako, even if Siege continued to command it.

R'kshana is R'jannat's eldest daughter, and the one most like her legendary grandfather in temperament and ability. She can out-sail, out-swashbuckle, out-plunder, and out-drink damn near anyone, and the only reason she hasn't assumed command of her own ship yet is that she's still in her early 20's. Even someone with such undeniable talent has to put in the time to climb the ranks.

When Siege approached R'jannat about getting a second Mako afloat, one of R'jannat's conditions was that his daughter get the chance to prove herself as the second in command. R'khsana serves Siege with the expectation that some day soon, probably very soon, the Captain is going to get himself killed by his penchant for dashing off to clash with every apocalyptic hell-creature that rises up to threaten the world. She admires Siege and admits that she's got a lot to learn from the veteran Pirate, but she still considers herself more than ready to take over when he finally sails his last voyage. Any day now.

NAME: Griever Strzygasch RANK: Quartermaster ANCESTRY: Lost Hrothgar PRIMARY JOB: Gunbreaker SECONDARY JOBS: Summoner, Scholar, Blacksmith, Miner PLACE OF ORIGIN: Bozja

An old smuggler who's been sailing for longer than most of the rest of the crew has been alive, Griever insists that he's officially "too old for all of this", but it's impossible to imagine him actually retiring.

Griever and Siege first met when Siege was on the run from the Garlean VIIth Legion. An unwilling conscript, Siege took the Bozja Citadel Disaster (and his miraculous survival) as an opportunity to run, and Griever took pity on him and helped him get off the mainland. Griever kept Siege around as a crewman on his smuggling ship for a while, then recommended him to another crew. Their paths continued to cross, and when Griever took work as a boatswain on the Mako, he recommended his old pal for the Master-At-Arms post.

Just because Griever and Siege have such a long friendship doesn't mean Griever is in the Captain's pocket, though. The Quartermaster's primary job is to account for the finances and supplies of the ship and see that they're used effectively. So while Griever falls third in the line of command on board, he answers equally to R'jannat Nunh and the new Mako's other financiers, and serves as a check on the captain's more outlandish impulses. After losing on ship to adventure, Siege insisted that Griever take an almost adversarial posture in this role, and Griever is the kind of man who takes that sort of duty very seriously.

NAME: Penitent Cormorant RANK: Chaplain ANCESTRY: Hellsguard Roegadyn PRIMARY JOB: Monk SECONDARY JOBS: Black Mage, Dark Knight, Goldsmith, Miner PLACE OF ORIGIN: A village in Abalathia's Spine

Sailors and superstition seem to go together like rum and hangovers even in mundane seas, and the waters of Etherys are anything but. It's common for even the most rowdy crew of scoundrels to have a priest on board to keep abreast of all the curses and taboos that will agitate local spirits, oversee the rituals inevitably needed to calm them back down, and if all else fails provide direction to the crew on how to defeat a hostile specter by force.

Penitent is the best of the best, and served in this capacity on the original Mako. It was also on the original Mako that she and the young master-at-arms Siege Zabac were briefly, tempestuously married. She left the crew and ended the relationship several months before the Mako was lost. No one's sure what arrangement they came to in order to get her back on the crew, but they are definitely not back together in any kind of romantic capacity.

NAME: Lunaticia Cerise (an obvious pseudonym) RANK: Master-At-Arms ANCESTRY: Hyur Highlander PRIMARY JOB: Red Mage SECONDARY JOBS: Reaper, Warrior, Leatherworker, Botanist PLACE OF ORIGIN: Kugane, Hingashi

Luna is a wild child, and it's become kind of a personal project for the Captain to try to train her to be a valuable crew member. She tells a lot of improbable stories, but these parts of her alleged origins seem to hold up to scrutiny - that her mother was a Hingashi noblewoman and her father a Garlean officer attached to the consulate, that the two of them fled to the protection of the Ruby Sea Confederacy in order to be together without their respective governments interfering, and that she got ejected from the same Confederacy despite being raised from birth among them for being too dangerous and unruly.

Siege probably wouldn't have put in the effort to try to sand off her rough edges except for two things. First, Luna is on the very short list of people who can give him a challenge in the sparring ring, and skill like that doesn't turn up every day. Second, Luna has the Echo.

When she joined the crew she was basically on probation, but she's slowly learning to reign in her worst impulses, and it's not lost on her that the Captain has trusted her with the position of master-at-arms, the very same rank he held on the original Mako before he became Captain. In this role she leads the charge on boarding actions, ensures that the Mako's arsenal is well-tended to and ready for service, and sees to the combat training of less-experienced crew members. And she's good at it. Great even! At least, when she can reign in her temper and focus her attention.

NAME: Lockpix Burglebanks RANK: Chief Engineer ANCESTRY: Dunesfolk Lalafell PRIMARY JOB: Machinist SECONDARY JOBS: Ninja, Armorer, Miner, and hopefully the new Caster DPS job in Dawntrail will be a good fit, just to maintain 3 jobs per character. PLACE OF ORIGIN: Ul'dah, presumably

Years ago a group of goblin scavengers found a lalafell baby in the wreckage of a carriage that had been attacked by bandits. When they tried to return the infant to the city, they weren't able to even get within shouting distance of the walls before a hail of arrows and thaumaturgy greeted them. So they decided to raise the child as one of their own.

Lockpix is a genuine mechanical genius, an engineer on par with Cid Garlond or Nero Scaeva. But his particular area of interest has historically been crime, inventing a plethora of weird little gadgets to bypass magical, technological, and mundane security.

Lockpix was the third crew member R'jannat suggested to Siege, both because the engines of the skyship Mako were going to be that much more complex than those of its sailing predecessor, and because Sky Piracy is a profession that runs into sophisticated technical problems with greater frequency than its sea-based counterpart. All Siege had to do to recruit this brilliant young technician was spring Lockpix from jail first.

NAME: Usul Haragin RANK: Navigator ANCESTRY: Xaela Au Ra PRIMARY JOB: Dragoon SECONDARY JOBS: Astrologian, Paladin, Carpenter, Botanist PLACE OF ORIGIN: The Azim Steppe

Any member of the Mako's crew can pick up a map and chart a course, as just a basic level of proficiency. What Usul does is beyond that. He senses the aether of the winds and waves, of the stars above and the depths below, and has an unfailing sense of his place in the universe in relation to these forces. If Siege asked for a course to the depths of the Seven Hells and back, Usul would find it.

The Haragin Xaaela are just like that, but even among a tribe of renowned wayfarers, Usul was seen as something special. When he took his boat to sea one night and didn't return, the only thing that surprised the rest of his village was that he'd taken so long. In this case he was waiting for a vision, and with it a destination. The tides of fate were drawing him to offer his services to the savior of the world, he knew that much.

What Usul didn't expect was that he would arrive after the greatest threat was already vanquished, and wind up helping the Hero of the Star by helming his pirate ship. He's sticking with it for now because something tells him there are other threats beyond the horizon, but for now Usul is not terribly pleased with the path fate has put him on.

NAME: Pandora Jarnvidr RANK: Doctor ANCESTRY: Rava Viera PRIMARY JOB: Sage SECONDARY JOBS: Samurai, Dancer, Alchemist, Botanist PLACE OF ORIGIN: A forest village whose name no one else even remembers now

R'kshasa Nunh had seven wives, but only one of them outlived him. Pandora never bore him any children, but she cared for him in his waning years, then returned to the study of medical magic that had consumed the bulk of her long life, aside from her all too brief tenure as a Bride of the Pirate King. Technically this makes her one of R'khsana's grandmothers, but... not really? Miqo'te families can be complicated.

Pandora is nearly three hundred years old, but she's still driven by the memory of the plague that eradicated her childhood home, a catastrophe of which she was the sole survivor. She has studied the healing arts with multiple cultures, and even lectured for some time as a professor at the Studium in Sharlayan, although she never took the time out of her studies to obtain the rank of Archon.

Siege was not able to convince her to join his pirate crew. Siege was able to convince her to keep a field office on his pirate ship, because pirates tend to accumulate frequent and novel injuries, and at this stage of Pandora's research she craves field data more than anything else. Officially she is a civilian passenger. Just... a civilian passenger who is treated in all ways by the crew as Chief Medical Officer, including her de facto position in the chain of command. And a civilian passenger who has been observed to not be too picky about using her nouliths to blast monsters with surgical-grade lasers, if it seems like a fight is getting out of hand.

[the-tzarina-alexandra-paracosm]

Vote based on the design AND the backstory

The Butterfly Queen

(Insect Fairy World - 2016-2018)

Role: villain

She ascended to the throne when her older sister died in childbirth, leaving behind a daughter and a husband who decided to raise his child away from the court drama. The Queen hopes to secure the throne for herself permanently, not only as regent until her niece becomes of age, but she wouldn't dare hurt the girl either.

Vs

Grigoriy

(The Land of Eternal Winter - 2019-2020)

Role: villain (becomes less so later on)

He wishes to use a loophole in a key historical peace treaty in order to be able to claim the neighbouring country belongs to them, and he's willing to play dirty in order to achieve his plans. He is also Anatoliy's uncle, with whom he has a very complicated and toxic relationship. On the one hand, he misses his own son, so he sees Anatoliy as a sort of surrogate son figure, but on the other hand, he had no qualms to manipulate Anatoliy into doing the dirty work for him. He's pulling a lot of strings, but to this shock, he will realise that somebody else is using him in an even bigger conspiracy.

Additional info

Insect Fairy World - 2016-2018

Status: incomplete (concepts, drawings)

Form: ???

Genre: fantasy

This is less a story than a worldbuilding project. Though I do imagine some conflicts between the characters that can be extrapolated into a story, but it's so fragmented it feels more like video game lore. Each fairy has a set of wings based on some Insect, and they are kinda separated based on their "species". The Butterfly Queen rules them all as a sort of Empress, which the other queens don't appreciate. She also tries to keep her niece away lest she take her throne.

Vs

The Land of Eternal Winter - 2019-2020

Status: complete (draft 1: English, typed, draft 2 in the works)

Form: novel

Genre: mild steampunk, kinda post apoc but mostly drama (and court drama)

Anatoliy is a prince whose beloved father just died, so he assumes it was an assassination. He suspects the neighbouring king and has him killed, only to later realise he was innocent. He is almost completely overcome by guilt and despair, but ultimately fights to do whatever in his power to not only fix the consequences of his crime, but to also mitigate the effects of the much larger conspiracy at work that he found himself an unwitting pawn in. There are very many side characters, each with their own complex stories, which all tie into the idea that ones desire to change the world may be futile, or even become evil, but we must still strive to do good here on earth despite no rewards in sight. I'd say this is my 2nd "masterpiece" work in terms of writing

[justrandomselfships]

I decided to do explaining of themes in the short story

I went with Moon and Sea theme for the story because 1: I just like the Moon/Sea more than Sun/Moon 2: I think being the sea suits Nilou much more than the sun.

In the story, roles of the sea and moon are obvious, but the sun was never made clear. So here I am clearing it up that the Sun is Stella's parents who only ever expected of her to study. Cuz to some the role of the sun could be interpreted as some sage.

Maybe one day I will elaborate more about Stella's backstory and her relationship with her parents but to put it short for now they just put a lot of expectations in her because they think she deserves to be the best of the best without realizing that she's more interested in a simple life.

The moon's job as "counting and listening to dreams" for Stella was studying stories of the gods and researching what parts of it was true... Except she was always too lazy to do the second part when it meant she had to go outside.

When I wrote - During the night she'd dance, her audience were the stars. But little did she know, the moon was watching as well. She was captivated and she desperately tried to be seen by the sea... Yet in the end she lacked bravery... She continued to watch her beloved sea from the distance. Seeing all kinds of expressions of the sea falling for her deeper and deeper. - It wasn't entirely accurate to their real story. Since at that point Stella just always made sure that her trips to the grand bazar would be at a time of Nilou's performance and she just was so envious of how carefree the performers were. She didn't fall in love with Nilou by watching her dance, it was just added to spice it up a little.

When she ACTUALLY feel for Nilou was in the fragment- The sea laughed "Is that truly what you think? I've seen your interest in arts" she paused "Day after day, you try to write a story for your own dreams do you not?" the moon was silent for a moment, but as she saw sea's beautiful smile she felt like she was unable to lie and admitted to her hobby "As someone unable to dream I just long to experience it myself... Is that wrong?" - in reality Nilou was asking Stella about one of her failed stories about perfect love and Stella's response was that she just had no time for relationships. And that it was foolish of her to write such a thing.

I think that's all, if there's something else I'll have to add I'll probs reblog it with the additions. I just really like talking about my ship with Nilou so if there's anything you'd like me to clear up lmk~

[sunkern-plus]

oh god. thought of the worst crackship ever

what if i paired seth, our beloved tormented nonbinary meow meow, specifically their sfiv incarnation where they’re mainly serious and show no sides of whimsy or any emotion really except when they’re triggered, with the most whimsical and emotional (headcanon nonbinary, but i mean he uses “watashi” in the idolish7 japanese version when most others use “boku” or “ore” given that it’s a male idol series, and as watashi is neutral and even viewed as feminine, is probably a deliberate part of presentation about the character given that he knows japanese fluenty and probably wants to define his gender on his own terms given that all these idol characters have really fucked up backstories and i feel like this one has to do with how he was raised specifically to be a playboy) character in the world: nagi rokuya from idolish7

“OH! You are ROBOT! Like from magical girl show! Robot villain!”

“Hrmph! How dare you reduce my personality down to a single fragment such as ‘robot villain from magical girl show’! I am Seth, and I am a unique individual with such a vast and fragmented psyche that you can’t POSSIBLY comprehend how multifaceted and intelligent I am, inferior human lifeform!” “...You use BIIIIIIIIG English words! I do not understand! I’m Italian! Where are you from?”

[seth’s brain breaks but they can’t just leave him there he’s like an innocent puppy]

note: this is not a romantic pairing. i don’t know how old seth is intended to be. nagi is 19 but he’s very much an immature 19 year old. i want them to be a buddy cop dynamic

[lyratums]

emukasa detective au rambles part 2?

(self indulgent word vomit, not recommended to read)

it's one of those nights where i need somewhere to dump my au. what's a linear, consistent plot? (sorry i like writing in scrambled fragments and somehow piecing the timeline together). this is just the introduction. nothing interesting happens. dont bother.

i wrote about emukasa basic profiles in another post i hope. for job context, emu is a lady from a rich, noble family (unemployed). tsukasa is a detective currently working independently under a small firm (shiraishi's). his only other co-workers are an and akito. rui is an inspector that works at a professional agency "arc" (haha get it "arcland".. no? okay.), which functions as the "scotland yard" of this universe. tsukasa used to work with rui at "arc", but that's not too relevant right now.. just needed to add why rui and tsukasa know each other (i dont think anyone is even mentioned in the beginning aside from emukasa). they all have backstories and such but idk im not dumping that here rn. the entire prsk cast is also in this story with roles, but maybe profile dump another time. i still have to write proper detailed profiles for emukasa too.

as for setting: no strong historical accuracy, but its like 1920s to 1930s era in a fictional world that is supposed to be earth but not 100% true so that i dont have to care about world history and realism. yay. aesthetic wise, very sherlock holmes esque if ykyk.

their initial encounter began after emu's precious jewel was stolen by a mysterious phantom thief, right from her estate. this rose quartz was a special gem to her, as it was the last thing her grandpa gifted her before he passed away. she was determined to get it back no matter what. she couldn't do it alone though, so she sought out a detective. she recalled an amazing detective she heard about from her brothers, someone from "arc" that helped solved an "impossible" case for them: tsukasa tenma. when she arrived at arc, she discovered that he was unfortunately no longer working there... but there was a gut feeling that she had to consult HIM specifically for this case... so she asked around and fortunately discovered that he's still an active detective, just under a different agency.

insert the shoujo love bubbles when their eyes met for the first time. anyways, tsukasa was initially surprised at how a high standing noble like emu decided to approach him, a small, "humble" (/s) detective. he was hesitant to take this case despite piquing his interest (his love for the strange and "impossible" cases) since he hasnt taken a large case of this size in a long time. however, with some sweet talk from emu ("but youre the AMAZING star detective right?" *sparkly eyes*), he agreed to take the case. before they start, he needed to finish the other case he took today: a missing dog. to his shock, emu decides to help him solve it ("no, you really don't have to-" "I'D LOVE TO HELP!! :D"). emu's now dragged into the case, much to tsukasa's initial annoyance ("i don't need help. i am a star detective!")

the case was relatively simple: ms. hanasato needed to find her beloved samoyed dog "samo-chan". this dog ran off from her yesterday and she has been distraught since. there were very few clues to work with: a broken leash, the general area where minori lived, and the last location he was seen (her house, with an opened front door). with some brainstorming and deduction together (which went well.. tsukasa and emu built off of each other's ideas fluidly), emu came to a seemingly wild conclusion ("what if he's over here?" *points to a completely different section of the map*). tsukasa had his doubts ("wait, wouldnt it make more sense to search the general area of her residence first?!"), but decided to go along with her (he had no choice). to his surprise and emu's delight, samo-chan was found in an entirely different part of town at the deli.

with a happy owner and a lost dog returned, they can now start the case. they mutually agreed to work together to solve emu's case, after their surprisingly successful teamwork today (*insert tackle hug here*). a new partnership formed today!! a formidable bond! the start of their mutual pining!!

sorry beginning of the story is slow/generic, but i needed a logical way for them to meet and for exposition purposes (this is where you're supposed to learn about the characters and setting and such if this were formatted into a proper storyline). of course their first interactions included, but not limited to, silly banter, witty lines, straight man and wise guy dynamic, and their fun personalities displayed. it's like emukasa's first encounter in main story (sort of) combined with how holmes/watson's first encounter went. its just emukasa's dynamic but in a detective partnership!!! if i had the energy to write the dialogue it would be more obvious.

detective skill stuff:

tsukasa has a more conventional (but somewhat unconventional in the eyes of a normal person) way of solving things than emu. he has great deduction, strong analysis, and deep/vast knowledge. he's very observant of the world around him and notices the small things (about people, settings, etc) that are often not considered. his connections with the community from his many cases and networking are really helpful when he needs resources, information, etc. there are perks to being an outgoing, friendly talkative, bold, [whatever extrovert words i can insert] person. when needed, he's amazing at acting and disguises (in another universe, he would be a star...). despite being a talented detective with a strong skillset, tsukasa isnt perfect and has his weaknesses (sometimes rash, letting his emotions take over logic, etc).

emu's detective style is highly inspired by this sherlock holmes quote: "when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth". its based on her great imagination, and how creative she is. emu basically fills in the gaps that tsukasa tends to overlook and notices what tsukasa is unable to see. this also leads to some wild/crazy ideas and guesses... her special skill is her emotional intelligence, such as being able to see through people's lies when it comes to questioning. great eyesight and hearing too. she has strong physical skills, which is useful in most cases!... she is also the one who wields the gun in most situations.

their first impressions of each other after this dog case:

tsukasa (about emu): thought she's crazy, but not to be underestimated and has great potential (impressed). found some annoyance with her "emu language" and her strong personality. currently wondering if he made a mistake taking this case, fearful for what his future with her holds (LOL). he's excited to finally take an interesting case again though, with an interesting partner.

(spoiler: he takes longer to fall for emu, but he certainly fell harder).

emu (about tsukasa): absolutely smitten... he was amazing as a detective and it was obvious that he had lots of experience to get to his skill level. somewhat strange and eccentric but he was entertaining for sure. she hasnt had this much fun in a long time, which was a nice change to her comfortable, predictable life. she was grateful that he was the reason why she was able to smile today after being upset over her missing jewel. she couldnt wait to see him again!!

(love at first sight. it was over as soon as she walked in that door).

THE FUN PART IS THE REAL CASE!!! they also get dragged into side cases along the way (unintentionally. what amazing luck /s). theres the romance sideplot: slowburn as the case progresses. ALL OF THIS IS... in my head. when will i get the chance to write it out? in the future, but im known to lack motivation unless its a random burst of energy at 3 AM like right now.

sorry i hope no one read all of this because its pure, unformatted word garbage.

[ocean-in-my-rebel-soul]

OC questions on forms of love, 1 & 2 (or one or the other) on the very first list, any oc. I am very curious about the exploration of these questions generally speaking 😅😊 forms of love are so interesting to me.

Guess who doesn't get app notifications that someone's sent me an ask? :'-)

(Questions from this OC ask list, "OC Questions on the Seven Forms of Love")

Answering for.... (*rolls dice*) Ellara Lavellan! She has a weird relationship with love because of her backstory!

Eros – Romantic, Passionate Love.

Is your OC romantic in the traditional sense? Do they enjoy giving or receiving gifts of flowers or confectionary? Or are there other courtship traditions from their culture of origin that are important to them?

When Ellara was young, she had been romantic in the way children are; she dreamed of an exciting, loving relationship, and had a crush on a young hunter-in-training who was a couple of years older than her. He was so handsome, and was really skilled in skinning deer. As she grew older and began her training as the Emerald Knight apprentice, her role in the clan grew a little weird. In her canon verse, this role is a religious one, as well as martial, and is filled by someone chosen by the Creators to protect the clan. These assignments are usually given by sign or visions, and discussed with the Keeper as to their voracity. She was chosen by Falon'din to protect Lavellan in this way, given to her in an interaction with his avatar (a small fragment of the Creators' powers in the waking world). Her mother was similarly chosen to be the Hearthkeeper and head healer by Sylaise, so she had an interesting childhood in relationship to her peers. It set her apart, little by little.

Anyway. Because she knew that her life would be dedicated to Lavellan in this way, and because she was chosen by the god of death, she came to a realization in her late teens that she would probably not have the relationship of her dreams. Though she didn't advertise that she was chosen by him, word got around, and people saw her differently, and acted even weirder toward her. She still had glimmers of crushes, and still sorta believed in love and that she wanted that for herself, but tried her best to set it aside. Who would want a wife who was promised to the god of the dead?

In this verse, the Dalish have certain courting rituals. Chief among them are proving that you can provide for your intended beloved(s), and include things like crafting items, dedicating hunts, etc. There is a lot of community property among the clan that is crafted with everyone in mind (like weapons, tools, clothing, etc.), but this phase of the courtship creates personal property. This property becomes the permanent property of the recipient, no matter the outcome of the courtship. This phase is the most public of the whole process. Once all parties accept the engagement, they go to the Keeper to ascertain that they are not related enough to mess up bloodlines and the gene pool; there's a certain line of relation that is not acceptable to cross in order to maintain the health of the clan, but of course there is always the occasion where the parties involved ignore that. The Keeper and Hearthkeeper oversee and officiate the wedding, which are often held on auspicious dates.

2. How important is sex to them in a relationship? Do they see it as something essential to their happiness? Would they be able to remain in a monogamous relationship with someone they loved without sex?

Sex is not really important, though she does enjoy it. She's had a couple of flings at Arlathvhen (which I put as being every five years, not every 10), but seeing as Arlathvhen is only generally a month long, it's short-lived and casual. After she meets Blackwall and they develop a physical relationship, she does really enjoy that. Yes, she would remain in a monogamous relationship with someone she loved if the relationship wasn't sexual.

Ask me more questions about my OCs! Wardens: Ilya Surana (romances Zevran and Alistair [canon], romances Zevran [side canon]); Rhiona Cousland (warrior, romances Loghain) Hawkes: Adrian (mage, romances Fenris), Garrett (warrior, romances Anders); Inquisitor: Elara Lavellan (warrior, romances Blackwall)

[kittysproduce]

In death we speak

"Most nights I wish I would've just woken up with my hands covered in crimson. That will be easier to explain, to understand. Then, I wouldn't have to question why every time I'm sure it's the end for me, I wake up in another nightmare; one where everything—everyone—is so eerily still, I couldn't see anything but the dull colors of the waking world, and it's horrible, so horrible to walk in a land without sensing the slightest hint of a soul."

The mask lifts its gaze in the tides of unending shade, "There is nothing so simple in understanding this world. Not even us, who are beyond fate, the only ones of our kind, can explain why, in the countless times we've glimpsed on each other, we can only truly ever commune in these dreams of yours."

Kisa opens her eyes, or did she close it? There is nothing to see in the infinite darkness. "Dream," she mutters, "no.. I'm not going back there."

"But you already are," Miraak's visage begins to blur like snow in a blizzard, "Don't fear the lightless path, my child. There is a reason you keep walking back to it."

The dragonborn wakes, a soul baptized in the embers of Helgen.

TES summer fest 2022 Day 01 - Dreams

Day [01], [02], [03], [04], [5, 6], [07]

[captaincryolicious]

Say You Love Me

➳ Xiao x gn!reader

➳ Oneshot ; 1.4k

➳ Angst, hurt to comfort

➳ Inspired by ; TXT – 0X1 = LOVESONG (yes because many parts of the lyrics remind me of Xiao)

It's one of those days again, where the violent peaks in the adeptus' karma become too much to bear on his own. In his moment of despair, he finds himself calling out your name. [19.O6.2O21]

Zep's Note ; Xiao's backstory broke my heart and it still didn't heal </3. I know he's merely fictional, but he deserves the whole entire world and I wish I could end his suffering and make him happy :(

content under the cut | masterlist

You didn't know why, you didn't know how. You were simply enjoying a cup of black tea in your favorite teahouse in Liyue Harbor when a hand of cold steel had taken a hold of your heart, and you knew something was wrong. 

Without even so much as a fragment of hesitation, you left some mora on your table near the window and abandoned your barely-touched tea as you exited the place in a rush of restless concern. There wasn't much rational thinking going on in your mind, mostly because your thoughts were blank and it was merely your instincts that told you it wasn't right.

There was just one coherent word perpetually repeated in your slightly confused yet worried mind; Xiao. 

Your feet had a will of their own as they brought you through the streets of the port city, it was as if your body knew exactly where to go and what to do while your mind didn't quite follow yet. All you had was a feeling, a seed of distress that had settled in your gut stubbornly and directed you to what was hopefully the right place. You were quite certain it had something to do with your beloved adeptus, and the more you grasped onto that thought, the more you started to realize what could possibly be wrong. 

You had to hurry. 

By now you were running, leaving the streets of Liyue Harbor behind and venturing into the wilderness surrounding the city. Maybe it was your imagination that was clouded with worry, but it was as if a magnetic force was pulling you into a certain direction and you could only hope it was correct. You would never forgive yourself if it wasn't, if your feeling guided you to the wrong place, if you wouldn't be able to find and help Xiao, if you –

No, you weren't going to be too late. 

Your lungs were burning at this point, every inch of your body begging you to stop. Not yet, not yet, you pleaded to yourself. You were close, Xiao was near you and you could feel it in your entire being. It started to come together now that you found yourself in the vicinity of the old run-down shrine not too far from the harbor. 

     "Y/N," echoed over the plains weakly, and your heartbeat stilled for a moment as the voice reached your ears, familiar and – regretfully –  evenly familiarly strained. 

You ran, making a dire call on the last remnants of your stamina to push through in order to reach your deeply troubled lover. You had yet to understand why you always seemed to sense Xiao's suffering, but it had often brought you to him when he needed you the most and you were incredibly grateful for the, let's say, sixth sense you had. 

     "Xiao!" you called, ultimately spotting the male hunched over on the ground in the old shrine, barely able to sit up against the forgotten statue of a fallen adeptus. His jade spear was a few feet away from him, covered in dust and shards of stone. 

Your heart wrenched in pain at the sight, and you wasted no time to approach him and crouch down on the rough soil right by his side, barely noticing the debris scraping your knees. His eyes were shut tightly as you took him in your arms, pulling his trembling form against your chest that would hopefully offer him some comfort, even if it was just a little. 

     "Y/N," he breathed, his fingers gripping onto the fabric of your shirt as if you were all he had, as if he was afraid that you would leave again, as if you were his only light left in the darkness that consumed him. 

No words were needed for you to understand what he was going through, just one glance had you knowing all you needed to know. The yaksha was sweating profusely, surges of sharp pain and terror racking his body and a thick black fog crawling around you threateningly, like vultures waiting to devour their dying prey. The karma he was burdened with was a presence lurking perpetually, but on days where it became unbearable, it had him tearing at the seams. 

     "Xiao, I'm here," you whispered softly, running your hand over the tense muscles in his back soothingly. "You're not alone anymore, it's all good now." 

You knew it wasn't, and so did he. His internal battles with his karmic debts were everlasting for as long as he lived, and his immortality rested on his shoulders heavily as a curse. 

But your words also held some truth, something that wasn't just a hollow consolation to offer some empty comfort. He truly wasn't alone anymore, and even though you could do nothing to ease his heavy burden, you could offer him your warmth and love every time his world froze over once more.

     "...'s too much," the adeptus growled, breathing heavily. He was hot and feverish, weak and exhausted. His eyes were dull and tired when he finally looked at you, damp hair sticking to the sheen of sweat on his forehead. 

It wasn't a rare sight to see Xiao like this, but rather a sight you had to witness too often, and you knew you would never get used to it. 

Everyone thought of the vigilant yaksha as cold and emotionless, indifferent and invincible, almost taking his guard over Liyue and its people for granted. Yet here he was, your arms that were around him all that kept him from fully breaking apart in his most vulnerable state. 

     "I know," you agreed quietly, because there was no use in telling him otherwise. These phases were torture in its rawest form, leaving him with a pain that couldn't be described with the words available in the human language. 

     "But remember one thing, Xiao," you continued, brushing some loose strands of hair away from his eyes tenderly. "You are stronger than the darkness, you are better than the darkness. The past is in the past, and the person you have become is a hero loved and appreciated by many. I know you don't believe in your own light, so please let me be your light to guide you through the shadows, okay?"

Words were just words, and you knew that all too well. You couldn't relieve Xiao from his misery, but you still had become his okay when nothing else was okay anymore. He had let you see through his strong facade so quickly, he loved you, needed you, and that alone was enough to grant you the power to save him in his darkest moments. 

His life before you was a mess. Loneliness and sorrow were gnawing at him, the darkness around him weaving a web that seemed impossible to escape from. But he had found his guiding light, his motivation to endure the pain, his reason to fight the demons in his mind and come back even stronger than before. 

It was all you.

     "Y/N," he brought out, slowly letting go of your shirt and draping his arms over your shoulders. He looked at you earnestly, his hazy amber eyes still barely able to focus on you properly. Dried tears had left trails on his cheeks, and you softly reached out to wipe them off. 

He slightly leaned into your touch, his gaze not leaving yours. His body shook when another wave of pain surged through his being, and he furrowed his brows.

     "Y/N, say you love me," he begged hoarsely. 

Oh, he knew you loved him, just like you knew he loved you. But hearing you speak those three words out loud never failed to ignite a spark of hope and warmth in his heart, and not even the strongest peaks in his karmic debt could take that away from him. 

     "Xiao," you started, properly cupping his cheeks this time. "I love you." 

After that you brought him closer, and his crumbling world was whole again when your lips touched his. It was warm, it was safe, and the yaksha finally found it in him to relax. You felt it too, and relief washed over you as you smiled into the kiss. 

You were glad you got to meet the yaksha, on that fateful night many months ago. You were his, he was yours, and together you could conquer the shadows. 

Xiao protected the land of Liyue.

And you protected him. 

[mrs-nate-humphrey]

it’s halloween month so I would love to know any and all of your dan/nate halloween headcanons (bonus points if milo’s there too) 🧡🖤🧡🖤🧡🖤🧡

you sent this on the first of october like the wonderful festive pumpkin pal that you are! but i have been sooo no thoughts head empty,,,, and i wanted to give this actual deliberation & thought before diving right in, so....

DAN, SPECIFICALLY:

ok. i think dan would have complicated & conflicting feelings re: halloween. we already know, canonically, that rufus was really into halloween, so this paints a pretty elaborate image in my head of halloween at the humphrey household - i bet it was a lot of fun! but then, of course: alison left. i think holidays in general become difficult for dan in the After, because they remind him of a time his family was truly happy that he cannot go back to.

so halloween is always bittersweet for dan, he'll carve all the pumpkins and get nate all the pumpkin flavoured stuff from all the cafes, and his wardrobe is so full of browns and sweaters that he's always ready for fall anyway, and he's happy! he is. but sometimes he'll remember another family he used to be part of that's all fractured & fragmented now, and he'll get a little sad. it happens less frequently over the years, but it never quite stops. (nate the ever observant always puts an arm around him and kisses his cheek, and says something silly to make dan smile. sometimes they talk about it; most of the time they don't. but nate is always there, quiet & non-judgemental, waiting for when/if dan needs him.)

NATE, SPECIFICALLY:

on the contrary........ halloween is natie's absolute FAVOURITE. much like the thanksgiving flashbacks we get in 1x09, i feel that halloween for nate, during his childhood, would involve being with blair & serena and all of them having the time of their lives. i think anne & howard would drop him off at the waldorfs, and eleanor would entrust blair & serena & nate to dorota's care. when they're younger they go trick or treating, and blair is very serious and very prim & proper and has on a perfect, sophisticated costume (she dresses as movie characters always) while serena's in a state of chaos, her costume for whatever she's dressing as (usually a witch or a ghoul or something like that) is a bit lopsided, the ribbons in her hair are coming out, her makeup is smudged (not deliberately!). nate, naturally, is sort of in between those two states - blair dolls him up and sets him to rights, serena takes his hand and runs around with him until his costume is a little wonky - by no means as much as hers, but definitely not in pristine, blair-approved state. blair just gives serena & nate a tired, Adult look, like they're toddlers and she's the babysitter (this doesn't change over the years, and this dynamic sets in remarkably quickly.)

once they're older, there's alcohol, there's halloween parties maybe, but nate still sticks with blair and serena, and they still hang out with him. halloween & the first of november are THEIR days, because they always do a sleepover on the 31st, and waking up together on the 1st of november is just something that makes the day Theirs, to nate. so unlike dan, for nate, he DID have that family feeling, and he had it consistently over the years, and he knows that it exists still.

DAN & NATE, FINALLY:

nate gets so excited for halloween! he goes full on into event-planning mode. he and jenny get really engrossed in designing costumes for the humphrey gang, and dan is like "who are you again?" and nate gives him the finger + an unamused look. halloween is a great bonding time for dan & jenny's gf, actually, because both of them get to watch their partner be an absolute dork over the holiday AND get really into designing (which is normal for jenny but not for nate, lol.) they just sit together and share drinks and act very, very cynical.

dan knows that halloween month is a special month for nate, and he's determined Not to be a grouch, so he goes out of the way trying to keep that cheer alive. he bakes sugar cookies that he ices to look like ghosts, he carves pumpkins, he does All The Things. but in a similar vein, nate knows that halloween month is a bit rough for his bf, so he is extra cuddly and patient, and goes out of his way to remind dan again and again that he loves him, that they're family now, etc.

i think halloween would also bring a lot of gender feels to dan, who gets this one holiday in which it's socially acceptable to wear makeup and doll himself up and dress up as whoever he wants to be. i think that'd give him a lot of euphoria, a lot of questioning, and a lot of anxiety, all at once, and i think nate would just be there like a stabilising force, because nate just loves dan that unconditionally, whoever dan is, even if dan is figuring that out - nate loves dan. i had more to say about This Point specifically but i am so tired, i kind of forgot what it was.

oh!!! vampire movies. all of them. nate and dan WOULD. they'd watch endless nights and they'd watch vampire porn and they'd definitely sleep together after THAT. nate would bite dan's neck and repeat some dialogue from the porno, and dan would laugh, but he would also be so, so turned on. (what! parts of this are literally canon!)

since dan also canonically reads anne rice (i wonder if he's one of the fic writers who got a cease & desist or whatever she was sending at them back in the day, that would be an interesting dan humphrey backstory) i think he'd read it aloud to natie. nate would just be lying there with his head on dan's lap, and dan would be sitting up reading aloud, one of his hands carding thru nate's hair.

at a blairena halloween party one time, dan and nate dress up as... *drum roll* each other. are you surprised? yeah, me neither. they keep making risque references to That Night At Yale, and blairena threaten to kick them out of the party (empty threats.)

MILO HUMPHREY MY BELOVED:

i wish i had more milo headcanons than just "jenny designs extremely elaborate costumes for milo, and nate goes trick or treating with him" but that's kind of it. milo would also end up wearing a LOT of orange-brown-maroons to school all through october (dan is like, nate, the kid is 5, is this the age to put your fall agenda onto him? nate is like, yes.) i think once he's older, milo would start getting these ridiculous mugs home in october - a pumpkin mug, a mug shaped like a skull, a mug shaped like a skeleton hand, etc. think mugs that look like THS thing that krysten ritter is holding:

dan looks at the collection of horror themed mugs they have with equal parts dismay and pride, and looks at nate like, yeah, you sure did raise this kid alongside me, didn't you? this is all YOUR influence, babe.

i also feel like milo would wear black nail polish ALLLL the time. he'd start during halloween and just never stop. i mean. if you're curious about this, i have two words for you: aunt jenny.

BONUS:

nate finds photos of a younger dan trick or treating - dan must be 7 or 8 in these photos, and he & vanessa are both dressed up as witches, with the hats and everything. dan is carrying a pumpkin shaped lantern, and marx is sitting in the lantern, peering out from inside it.

dan just smiles, and goes, "yeah, when i was a kid, all my costumes involved marx in some way." there's marx with angel wings (looking extremely disgruntled), there's marx with a green blanket around him ("he was a caterpillar that year," dan informs nate seriously), there's marx with a little bonnet on his head ("he hated that SO much," dan laughs).

the humphreys adopted marx when dan was around 7 - and given how unconcerned rufus is by lily's lack of pets - when he moves in with her, they do not discuss getting a cat or a dog or a bird or anything.. i'm guessing that maybe alison and dan went to pick marx out. i think dan and jenny have both seen marx grow from being a kitten to an adult cat, but because dan was older he remembers it slightly better. and dan and that cat were INSEPERABLE, to the extent wherein dan would often put marx in a pram and stroll him around everywhere. (there are halloween pictures of this, too.)

anyway, i'm just saying.

"he was my partner in crime," dan says fondly, looking at a picture of marx.

"i'm your partner in crime," nate corrects him.

"well, yeah," dan says. he raises an eyebrow. "but do you really need to compare yourself to my cat?"

/end

[imakuni]

i think alien soldier, as primarily the individual work of NAMI (with minimal involvement from the rest of treasure's staff) is really interesting. there's such an absurd level of technical, visual, design mastery there. and careful thought toward worldbuilding and story that few people will ever fully understand because it's still sort of unfinished, the story we got only fragments of what was meant to be, the game we got only fragments of what was meant to be... it feels very "thief and the cobbler"-esque to me, a masterwork that will forever remain, to some degree, incomplete. even just last year we found unused bosses, we learned about lore, bosses that seem like random monsters who actually have entire backstories, relationships with other characters... some of them are canonically gay. i don't know, it all just makes me emotional somehow. i think it's a really beautiful game.

this quote from NAMI will always stick with me, will always come into my mind. his artistic vision is uniquely his own, his games show that, and alien soldier is his manifesto.

"Alien Soldier is like my baby… no, strike that, it is my baby. And she’s very cute. It was a difficult birth. In the end we had to perform a dangerous C-section on the mother. So she’s a premature birth…

With Alien Soldier, I wanted to make an entire game by myself: all the programming, obviously, and just about all the graphics. The game system is uniquely fun, but after the development I thought of new things I could have added to make it even more interesting. If only I had spent more time on the programming, I could have made the attack animations and the multi-sprite boss movement more realistic.

Choosing the Megadrive, which is quite meager compared with next generation hardware, was like imposing an absurd set of restrictions on myself. I may have been a little too captivated by the general idea of making an “action shooting” game.

Even when the development of Alien Soldier ended, my idealized vision of it just kept growing. I would like to make an Alien Soldier game again. This is my game. It is my work. I want to complete the story I began. I want to program everything through to the end myself, and do all the art myself. I want to show the process of how Epsilon 2 grows into and becomes the Alien Soldier. The youthful love between Kaede and Fou (Epsilon 2’s name when he was in human form), a Seven Force with seven transformations, or perhaps a boss with a hundred transformations—no, even a thousand!—I want to create all of that. Perhaps these are trivial things unrelated to the game’s essential core. It’s a little outside the scope of a programmer’s normal work, but I don’t care. I want to make my ideal Alien Soldier. But to be honest, just as I love this incarnation of Seven Force even if it only has five transformations, in the same way I still love this incarnation of Alien Soldier too.

Alien Soldier. In the two years I worked on creating you, I never once tired of you. I’ve thrown my life away on the Megadrive, and gambled it all on Alien Soldier. The only one who can love you because of, not in spite of, your various flaws is me. What, is it unbecoming of a developer to say all this? Well, I want to say what I want to say. Should I not put such things in my game? Can you trust the self-praise of the developer? …Alien Soldier is mine. I don’t care if you believe me! Am I being… strange? Alien Soldier is my beloved, and I’m madly in love with her. Waking, sleeping, I only think of her… “Hey, who do you think you are?!” Call me Nami-sama."